


Overflow

by fightforyourwrite



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: X & Y | Pokemon X & Y Versions
Genre: Bathing/Washing, Bathtubs, Conversations, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, Miare City | Lumiose City
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-09
Updated: 2016-06-09
Packaged: 2018-07-14 02:44:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7149491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fightforyourwrite/pseuds/fightforyourwrite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the normalcy of her loft at North Boulevard, Serena has a conversation with her steady about the media and the possibility of the future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Overflow

Calem tells her to ignore the words of the media, or at least, the media for the less sophisticated of people. Serena takes his advice to heart and tries her best to, she really tries for her own sake.  

There are days where she tries to block out the whispers on the street, or the gossip that flows through the ears of Kalos's citizens. She knows she shouldn't listen because it'll leave a sickening feeling in her stomach, whether the words be good or bad. 

But days where she can't ignore the buzz going on in the Kalosian media scene. At one point, a day comes where eyes, masked by her favourite pair of ivory sunglasses, glance upon the tabloids on display at a Lumiose newsstand.  

From the looks of the front page, it's definitely a trashy article about her, most likely written by a person she's never met in her life and now never wants to meet now. Letting her curiosity drive her, Serena walks over to the stand, keeping her hat low over her eyes. She takes a copy off the stack and tries to read quickly, knowing that the paunchy man running the stand will shoo her away rudely if she stays too long.  

Every word she reads disgust her; lewd comments about her body, accusations of fraud towards her accomplishments, if it hurts then it's there. In frustration, her grip tightens on the edge of the paper, wrinkling the material in her grasp. 

Serena eventually does put the paper town, just after the man running the stand vulgarly tells her to shove it. She adjusts her hat and wonders if the man would've treated her differently if he could actually see who she was.  

After she hails a Lumicab and tells the cabbie to take her to North Boulevard, Serena lets her mind wonder about what she just read. As the Lumiose buildings blur into gray outside of the moving cab's window, she can't help but think about the fact that the article she read had mentioned Calem as well.  

The writer had called him _'Champion Serena's Boy Toy,'_   amongst other things. Comments were made about his appearance and what they assumed to be the 'true nature' of their relationship, as farfetched as that assumption was. It was every mention of him that bothered her most of all, and it was that which left a revolting discomfort inside her stomach. 

Serena pays the cabbie once she arrives at her destination and enters her building. She ascends up the elevator, tapping her foot mindlessly against the floor. Even after she makes it to her loft and enters, she still can't take her mind of the article.  

They're not safe, Serena concludes internally. Everyone that she loves isn't safe. Not Calem, not her mother, not Shauna, Tierno, Trevor, not even Emma. The media of Kalos will get to everyone she ever interacts with, even if they don't want to be spoken to.  

They got to Calem and spoke garbage about him, which means that they'll get to everyone else, Serena just knows it. 

With all her thoughts clouding her mind, Serena removes her trench coat and mindlessly throws it on her couch as she makes her way to the bathroom. She rubs her temples with her fingers as she walks. Once inside, she closes the door before turning the tap on the bathtub's faucet, letting warm water pour into the porcelain tub. 

When the tub is filled enough, Serena strips off the rest of her clothes, from her socks and her blouse, and lays them off to the side before she climbs in. She knows she can think better when she's bathing, which is probably the reason why her showers tend to be so long. But now, Serena thinks she needs something a little more potent than a simple shower to relax her mind. 

The heated water feels almost heavenly against her skin, soothing every muscle in her body and calming the stress accumulated inside of her. As Serena lies in the tub's warmth, she taps her wet foot against the porcelain edge and tries to let her thoughts settle. 

Diantha had told her this when the status of Kalosian Champion was passed down to her. She was told that her life would never be considered private anymore, and that it was a given with her being regional champion and an undoubted celebrity amongst the people of Kalos. 

Serena knew about how the loved ones of celebrities were treated in the media. During her own childhood, she could saw that she was one in a way.  

Rhyhorn Racer Grace Johanssen didn't reach the same levels of fame as Diantha Dubois or Samuel Oak, but every race Grace won made her reputation in the racing world bigger. There was even a catch to her story that made her much more interesting than the other racers in the game, and that catch happened to be Serena herself. 

Everyone in Kanto clamoured over the Rhyhorn Racer who juggled her time between racing and being a single parent. They cherished that wholesome goodness to Grace, as it set her apart in a very unique way. The fact that Grace had Serena at the young age of 19 only made things more scandalous in the eyes of the tabloids. 

It was because of the media that Serena's childhood wasn't normal. People talked about her because of her connection to her mother, wondering if she would end up being a great Rhyhorn Racer, just like her mom. They placed pressure on her at a young age to be something and hopefully be something they could clamour over just like they did with her mother. 

It made Serena desperate to be herself. She wanted to be something more than Grace Johanssen's daughter or the next sensation in the world of Rhyhorn Racing. She wanted to be her, no matter who that person would be.  

Now that she was older, Serena became that person and made a name for herself. However, in the current state of mind she was in, she felt like she was back where she started; stuck feeling helpless due to the influence of the media.  

The thoughts in her head started to overflow and began to give her a headache, so Serena dunks her head into the water.  

But even in her submerged state, Serena can still hear actions going on even if they are all the way at her loft's front door. The door opens and footsteps resonate through the space. A voice that is nothing but familiar calls out into the residence:  

"Serena?"  

Serena takes her head out of the water to respond to Calem's voice, "I'm in here, Calem. I'm taking a bath. Uh... do you think you can come in for a moment?"  

She hears his footsteps approaching the door, but he doesn't even touch the knob before getting another sentence in.  

"In the bathroom? Is something wrong?"  

"I just need to talk, there's something on my mind."  

"Oh, ok."  

The knob rattles and in enters Serena's steady. She notices that for once, Calem isn't wearing that damn track jacket he dons too much. The colder weather of the current month seems to have forced him to exchange his track jacket for a slate parka.  

Even with the change in wardrobe, he seems normal as can be. Last she recalled, he had spent all day at Sycamore's lab, running tests and looking over data he had collected in the Pokedex. It seems to have tired him out to a certain extent. He appears a little relieved to be back with Serena, possibly expecting some normalcy after the day he just had. 

Calem keeps his eyes on hers, calmly focused as he takes a seat on the closed toilet.  

"What's up?"  

"I read a tabloid today." 

Calem's calm exposure falters. For a second, he glances down and lets out a crestfallen sigh. "What'd they say about you?"  

"The whole nine yards, really," Serena tells him. "But what I'm really worried about is the stuff they said about you." 

Calem's eyes glance up to meet hers again. His eyebrow is raised, "About me?" 

She shrugs, leaning back in the tub, "I couldn't read everything because the newsstand guy got angry and said: 'Buy it or shove it, you whore.' But from what I did pick up on, there's apparently a rumour going around Kalos that I'm only with you to get a green card and reap the benefits of Kalosian citizenship."  

Calem scoffs, taking off his parka and placing it near Serena's removed clothes. "That's rich," he mutters in a way that is as equally sarcastic as it is dry. "Anything else?" 

"Well, they also said that you and our friends weren't deserving of the title of 'Heroes of Kalos,' but that's more of an opinion than a rumour." Sighing, Serena rubs her face with her soaked hands and groans into them.  

"I'm worried." 

Calem starts rolling up the sleeves of his navy dress shirt to keep his hands busy, "About what?"  

"What if I have kids one day?" Serena wonders. "What if I have kids and they can't have a normal childhood just because their mom's a celebrity?" 

"Just like you?" Calem brings up. He knows plenty about her past, having learned it all from conversations had on date nights or in sleepless evenings in bed.  

Serena nods her head, "Exactly. They'll be bigger targets of the tabloids than our friends could ever be." 

Grumbling in frustration, Serena looks up at the bathroom ceiling and lets out a tired breath, "I know I shouldn't care about this but I do. Maybe that's my problem, I care too much."  

Calem reaches over to her. He takes one of her locks of damp hair between his index and forefinger and tucks it behind her ear. Serena looks up upon feeling his touch and he grazes her cheek with his warm hand.  

"You're a compassionate person, Serena, that's why you care so much." Calem stands up and leans over the tub. He presses a kiss to her forehead, then one to her cheek. "It's one of the best things about you."  

Serena finds it hard to not grin upon every kiss Calem gives her. She looks at him and his pretty eyes with an honest beam on her face.  

"You care too much because you want to protect everyone you love. It all comes from wanting to keep people safe," Calem breaks down for her. "It’s not a bad thing that you care, it's just who you are." 

Serena grins, glancing down at the water in the tub. Even in a tender moment, she just has to add in a snarky remark. "Did you read that off a cereal box?"  

"Actually, I think you said this to me," Calem tells. He tilts his head to the side just slightly and gives her a smirk.  

There's a beat of silence between the two of them. It's a more tender and lighthearted than anything that followed before it. Serena even lets out a humoured chuckle in the middle of it. They're both smiling at least, and that's all that matters. 

"I wanna have kids one day." 

Calem's smirk softens warmly, "Me too."  

She tries to keep the conversation light, just as most of their conversations about kids tend to be. They usually speak of them in a general sense and never get too deep into any detail. None of them would want to freak the other out.  

Calem kisses her again, but instead of leaning, he kneels down on his knees before pressing his lips to hers. After they separate, he stands up once more and starts undoing the buttons on his navy button-front.  

Serena doesn't notice of what he's doing right away. But when she hears the sound of Calem's shirt dropping on the floor, she turns towards him with an amused expression.  

"What are you doing?" 

"You'll see."  

She gets an idea of what he's attempting, but it seems so absurd that part of her doesn't believe that he'll actually try it.  

But yet, Calem soon has all of his clothes off and Serena is laughing as he climbs into the tub to join his very gratified girlfriend.  

"Calem! We're gonna overflow!"  

"Water dries up, doesn't it?"  

He leans down and kisses her as bathwater from the tub sloshes from the edges and dribbles down onto the bathroom floor.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: When I was writing this, I didn't have a proper title thought up yet, so I just labeled the document on my drive 'Calem is a dweeb.' 
> 
> Because why not?


End file.
